Snowbonding
by imdoingthiswhy
Summary: Pre-Target family fluff - Rick, Kate, and Alexis
1. Chapter 1

It's Snowing

The snow started mid-afternoon on Friday, and there were warnings that conditions would be getting bad fast. Alexis was at the dorm, and Castle and Beckett were still at the precinct. Castle had already talked Beckett into picking up extra clothes from her place that morning and staying with him so he knew she was okay during the storm. His next job was to convince Alexis to do the same. While Beckett finished paperwork, he called his daughter.

"Hey, Pumpkin. It's snowing."

"No kidding. I'm halfway between my English class and my dorm, and I hadn't noticed," she answered, amused.

"It looks like it could be bad. Do you have everything you need there?"

"I'm not sure. My roommate left this morning to stay with her parents. I need to check the grocery supply."

"Sounds like your roommate had the right idea. Why don't you pack a bag, catch a cab, and come home until it clears up. Kate and I picked up groceries yesterday. We have easy meals, snacks for movie watching, hot cocoa supplies…"

"I might do that. I think we're low on food in the room, and I really don't want to go shopping in this. Are you still at the precinct?"

"Yeah. Kate is scheduled for the weekend off. With any luck, she may get through most of it without being called back in. I talked her into staying at the loft so I don't have to worry about her."

"Grams is probably glad she had that audition in LA."

"Probably. At least we know one of us will be warm. So we should look for you later this afternoon?"

"I'll probably get there about the same time you do."

"Good. I won't have to worry about _you_, either."

"I knew that was what this call was about."

Castle could hear the smile as she spoke, which made him smile, too. "It's a dad thing. No help for it."

"Love you, too, Dad. See you later."

He smiled, looking at his phone briefly after she hung up.

"Does that smile mean she's coming home?" Kate asked as he put his phone back in his pocket.

"Yep."

"Good. Then I won't have to worry about either one of you this weekend, either," she answered.

He leaned back in his chair and looked satisfied. She shared his concern for his daughter. "Are you almost finished? And can we leave when you are? Looks like Gates has sent several people home when she got their reports."

"Another twenty minutes and I think we can go. Want to get us some coffee to make it go a little faster – for you?" she asked with her signature smirk.

"On it, annoying woman," he said as he got up and headed for the break room.

He came back with coffee and enjoyed the smile he got from Kate when he put it in her hand. She took a sip, closed her eyes and said, "Mmmm. Thanks." There was a little pause as she savored another sip and said, "I'm hurrying." The typing continued for a little while before she took a few more sips, rolled her shoulders a couple of times, and said, "Two minutes tops, and we can start closing up."

She sent her reports to the Captain, checked in to see that Gates received them, was dismissed for the day, and came back to Castle with a relieved smile. "Time to go," she told him, shutting down her computer.

Castle was already in his overcoat and was holding her coat for her.

"Not ready to leave or anything, are you, Writer-man?" she teased. Then she followed it up with a whispered, "Did I ever tell you how sexy you look in that overcoat and hat? Right out of GQ."

"You can't say things like that when I can't touch you," he complained while they walked to the elevator, and she answered with the low-pitched chuckle that often brought his response of "Evil woman." When they were alone in the elevator, he gave her a look that matched that response he just got from her. "Sexy, huh?"

"Yeah," she answered, this time giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

Before he could follow with another kiss, the elevator stopped at the third floor where several other members of the twelfth were also anxiously getting themselves out of the building. After some brief small talk among them about the storm they expected, they all reached the ground floor and went their separate ways.

Arriving in front of Castle's building, Kate pulled into a parking space next to the curb.

"You can park in the garage. That would save you having to clear windows and…"

"This will insure that I can get to the street if I'm called out. It's easier than having to clear the entrance to the parking garage, she answered."

"I guess you're right. Let's get inside where it's warm. Alexis said she should be here about now, too."

They both greeted the doorman on the way in and huddled close in the elevator to restore some warmth after the gusts of cold air between the building and where the car was parked about half a block away, and they found the loft still empty. Castle immediately went into dad mode.

"I hope she didn't have any trouble getting home."

"Don't start worrying yet, Dad." Kate answered as she took off her coat, hanging it on the back of one of the bar stools in the kitchen to dry. "She's probably been held up by traffic of one kind or another. It won't be easy to get a cab, traffic is awful, and people who usually walk are likely to be taking the subway. There could be a long wait. Call her and…" She stopped and smiled when she realized his phone was already at his ear, so she kissed his cheek and went to the bedroom to get out of her heels and into a warm sweatshirt.

When she got back to the living room, Castle was looking relieved. "She texted from the lobby," he said. "She's on her way up."

"So you can take off your coat now and look less like a worried father for her?"

"I don't know. I hate to take it off. You said I look sexy," he answered with a little eyebrow wiggle and a smirk.

"Daughter on the way up. A little less sexy might be good. You wouldn't want me to embarrass us, would you?"

"When you put it that way…" he answered with a little pout and removed his coat to hang it over the back of the barstool next to the one that held hers. He gave her a quick kiss and went to the door to be there to greet his daughter, who was just leaving the elevator.

Alexis dropped her bag and backpack just inside the door and was immediately enveloped in a big fatherly hug. "I've missed you, Pumpkin," he told her and kissed her forehead under the edge of the hood on her coat. "Get out of that wet coat, and we'll all get dinner started."

"Did you have any trouble getting here?" Kate asked from the kitchen.

"It took a while to get a cab, but the only problem after that was the traffic. There were times it was almost at a standstill. "Hi, Kate," she said, taking off her winter jacket and hanging it on a bar stool on the other side of Kate's coat. She gave Kate a hug and asked, "What are we having? What do you want me to do?"

Castle joined them, they divided jobs among them, and dinner was soon cooking. "How did you learn to do all this, Alexis?" Kate asked as they sat down in the living room to wait for buzzers to tell them dinner was ready. "Most eighteen year olds are still waiting for their parents if they want a meal better than sandwiches, hot dogs, or frozen pizza."

"Dad and I took some cooking classes when I was little, and we practiced at home."

"One of cooking schools offered a class called Pint-Sized Gourmets when Alexis was about eight," Rick explained. "It was the basics of cooking, basic kitchen skills, it advertised easy, nutritious recipes, and the kids took it with a parent. It looked like it would be easy enough that maybe the kids wouldn't show up my rudimentary kitchen skills, so I signed us up."

"You never let me in on all of that, Dad."

"Honey, when we started life together, I was so out of my element. I did my best…called your grandmother a lot, talked to other parents in the park while you played… I thought we'd leave that class able to make something I'd feel good about feeding you…"

"And it would give the two of you something else you could do together?" Kate asked gently.

"Yeah…that, too." Castle shot her a loving look, seeming to appreciate that she picked up on that.

"Home less than an hour, and I've already learned something I didn't know," Alexis commented, looking at her dad. "At that age, I always thought you just naturally knew what you were doing."

"I think he did, Alexis. I think he just needed positive reinforcement to believe it. From what Martha has told me, he had pretty good natural dad instincts."

"That's how it always felt to me. The cooking class…we really enjoyed it, and we took a couple more as I got older. We had some good dad/daughter time in the kitchen, then we'd put it all on the table and sit down and talk while we ate."

Kate was simultaneously enjoying hearing about Castle's early days as a dad and feeling a little bit on the outside of the family dynamic, wondering if she would ever really fit in when it came to the two of them. There was so much between them that she didn't know and could never be a part of.

"Was she always this easy going, Castle? Did she ever throw tantrums or anything?" she asked, looking teasingly at Alexis.

Castle smiled, looked at Alexis and opened his mouth to say something, but Alexis interrupted him.

"I remember pitching a few fits after I was old enough to know he wouldn't put up with it in public. He would just pick me up under one arm like a football and carry me away from wherever we were, telling me firmly, 'Resistance is futile'. Sometimes he'd follow it with one of his super villain laughs."

Kate let out a sudden burst of laughter at that. "Somehow I can almost see it. The Borg approach to child rearing. Coming from Richard Castle, why doesn't that surprise me?"

"I remember some snickering and laughter as we passed people then, but I didn't know why. I thought they were laughing at me. I watched some Star Trek with him then, but he was careful about which ones, apparently. When I was old enough he didn't think the Borg would scare me senseless, I figured out where it came from...that and the reason for the snickers."

"I never knew you thought people were laughing at you."

"You should be glad I did," Alexis answered with a grin. "I didn't like being laughed at, so I eventually decided to stop pitching fits in public."

"So the Borg method worked," Castle said to Kate triumphantly.

As both women laughed, buzzers on several pieces of kitchen equipment started sounding, and they went back to take care of dinner.

"Why don't you set the table, Castle, and Alexis and I will get the food."

As they started putting things on the table, Alexis chuckled and pointed out their coats hanging on the bar stools to dry. Hers was hip length and much shorter than the others. "It looks like the three bears were here. Papa Bear, Momma Bear and Baby Bear." Then she went back to transfer something else to the table, leaving Kate covering her surprise.

As they ate the meal they had prepared together, they talked about a little of everything.

"Tell me more about what you did together," Kate requested. "Where did you go for vacations?"

Castle and Alexis told her about times spent vacationing in several places, and Kate asked questions and laughed at some of the things Castle had thought up for the two of them to do…or gone along with when Alexis thought of them. Being a kid at heart had probably made him a better dad. It allowed him to see both sides.

"You know, if this storm goes on as long as it's predicted to, the power could go out before it's over, Castle mentioned. "We should probably plan any entertainment that requires electricity tonight. Tomorrow we can count ourselves lucky if it's still on all day. So, movies, anybody?"

"Can I pick the first one?" Alexis asked.

"Go for it," her dad answered.

After one movie, Kate said she was going to bed, claiming a long day, which Castle knew to be the truth. Alexis agreed, citing the rush to pack, the slippery sidewalks, the cold, and the frustration of all the traffic; so everyone was asleep relatively early.

xxxxx

The next morning, the wind was still howling, and it was still snowing, but the loft was warm. Hearing no signs of Alexis being up yet, Kate and Castle stayed in bed for a while after they woke.

She snuggled against his chest and kissed it, and they relaxed with their arms around one another. "Last night was fun. I like hearing about you and Alexis. Sometimes I wonder if she can ever feel like I'm a part of the two of you, though. You have such a close history of each other, without anybody else."

"But you want to feel like a part of us? And you wonder if she's willing to allow it?"

"Yeah. Another insecurity, I guess. At least I've started to believe she likes me...believes me enough to trust me with her dad."

"What did she tell you about cooking at home?"

"Good sharing time in the kitchen, then talking while you ate."

"And what did the three of us do last night?"

"Good sharing time in the kitchen, then talking while we ate?" she answered, smiling after a moment of thought.

"Did she seem to resent your being there?"

"No. She was even laughing and hip checking me out of the way now and then."

"Did she seem to mind when you asked questions about things we've done together?"

"Not that I could tell."

"And, being a detective, you'd probably notice…and being Kate, you'd probably see more than was there if you suspected otherwise." He softened his last statement with a kiss on the end of her nose.

She allowed herself a soft little puff of laughter at that and rested her forehead on his chest.

"You should realize that you probably now know some things her own mother doesn't…because her own mother isn't interested enough to ask the kinds of questions you did. I know she appreciates that you're interested in her, and I think she hopes we make this work. So do I."

"Me, too." There was a little pause. "It's working so far, isn't it?"

"_I_ think so. What about you?"

"Yeah." There was another little pause. "I've always been really bad at relationships, Rick; but I'm trying hard…because I really want us to work."

"I know." He kissed her forehead when she looked up at him. "And I can't tell you how much it means to me."

Suddenly Kate noticed the smell of coffee brewing. "Coffee. Alexis must be up. We should probably get up, too."

"You'd feel better with that, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah, I would."

"Then it must be time to get up."

"Thanks for understanding."

His answer was, "Always," followed by a smile and a thorough good morning kiss before they both got out of bed. Kate changed out of her nightshirt and dressed before leaving the room, so Castle did, too. Eventually all of Kate's concern about Alexis' feelings would dissipate.

They found Alexis in the kitchen pouring herself coffee.

"You made coffee," Castle said enthusiastically. "What did I do to deserve such a wonderful child?"

"It smells great," Kate added.

Alexis gave them a teasing smile and answered, "I don't want to deal with either one of you before you've had coffee."

Kate poured coffee for both herself and Castle, and they each added their own flavorings, then they simultaneously took a sip and hummed with pleasure at the first taste.

Alexis watched and shook her head. "Nobody knows how you two do that. It fascinates people."

They answered at the same time, their answers overlapping one another, "We don't know, either./It just happens."

The teenager shook her head again and laughed, not even attempting an answer.

"What sounds good for breakfast, ladies?" Castle asked, leaning against the counter as he drank his coffee.

"Is snow a good enough reason for chocolate chip pancakes?" Alexis asked.

"Sure. So is having my little girl home for a few days. The two of you can sit down, and I'll do the honors."

"Then I'm gonna go get dressed," Alexis answered. "Be right back."

By the time Alexis was back, Castle was ready to cook pancakes, and as Kate and Alexis talked, he poured batter on the griddle and carefully added chocolate chip happy faces to all the pancakes.

When he served them, Kate had to laugh. "Does he do this often?" she asked Alexis.

"These are usually meant to cheer somebody up when they need it, but sometimes it's just because he's happy."

"And nothing could make me happier than having both of you here for the whole weekend," he answered, sitting down with his own plate.

"I don't know, Castle," Kate joked. "It's kind of hard to eat something when it's still smiling at you."

"It's a pancake, Kate. Eat your breakfast," he answered dryly and added one of his little smirks.

xxxxx

Around lunch time the power went out. The windows let in enough light to allow them to read, and the gas fireplace still worked, as well as the kitchen stove, so meals wouldn't be a problem. However, there was no heat other than the fireplace, and its blowers didn't work without power. The three of them kept themselves busy and were still comfortable until late in the afternoon when it was closer to dark. Not long after that, they began to look for warmer clothes. Considering the cold and lack of power, they all decided to go to bed early.

"Be sure you have enough blankets before you get in bed," Castle told Alexis. "It's better to throw one off if you're too warm than to have to get up to get an extra one when you're cold."

"Yes, Dad," she answered, humoring him, and gave him a goodnight kiss before going up to her room.

"Come on," he said to Kate. "Let's pile some blankets on our bed and see if we can get warm."

They took care of their bedtime routines as fast as possible, then they got extra blankets from the linen closet and put them on the bed as quickly as they could, put on an extra pair of socks, got into bed wearing most of what they had on earlier, and snuggled as close as they could get, covers up over their ears. It took a while before they started to feel warmer and their cold, tense muscles finally began to relax. As they were dozing off, they heard a timid voice on the other side of the almost closed door.

"Dad?"

"What is it, honey? Come on in. Is everything okay?"

Alexis hesitantly entered the room wearing her heaviest pajamas, her bathrobe, and had a blanket wrapped on top of that. "I'm still really cold. I'd usually go get in with Grams, but she's in California where it's warm. Do we have any kind of heater that doesn't need electricity?"

"No. I'm sorry, we…"

Kate could hear the fatherly concern in his voice, and she felt bad for Little Castle. "Come on, Baby Bear," Kate teased. Grab a pillow from the closet and get in the middle. It's finally comfortable in here. Let's warm you up."

"Really?"

"Unless you'd rather be cold."

Alexis immediately went for the pillow and returned, stopping at the end of the bed. "You guys _are_ dressed under there, right?"

"Alexis!" Castle reprimanded. "One: Seriously? You'd even think to ask that after you were invited in? "

"Sorry. I guess the cold has affected my brain."

And two: Absolutely. It's cold! Socks, sweats, sweatshirts…"

"The only reason we don't have hats and mittens is that we didn't think of them, and it was too cold to get out and get them. I'm not getting out, so climb over me quick," Kate told her, holding up the covers.

Alexis threw her pillow in the middle when her dad moved over to make more room, then climbed in between them, pulling the covers close under her chin. She looked back and forth between them. "This is really weird…but it's so much warmer. We're not telling anybody about this, right…not ever?"

"Let's see. NYPD detective admits to sleeping with her partner and his eighteen year old daughter? Nope. Nobody's hearing it from me."

"Richard Castle, his teen-aged daughter, and Nikki Heat? Nope. Not happening here, either. Not even Paula could save us from that. How about you?"

"College student says she was in bed with her dad and his girlfriend? Not a chance!"

"You're right," Kate agreed with a chuckle, nudging Alexis' arm, "it's weird. But it beats having you freeze, right? So, get comfortable and let's see if we can get some sleep."

Alexis turned face down and folded her arms under her head. Kate and Castle both rubbed her back for a couple of minutes to warm her up a little, and she soon stretched out, seeming to have finally begun to relax.

"Feeling better now? Castle asked.

"Yeah," she answered drowsily. "Love you, Dad. Love you, Kate."

The two adults looked at each other in surprise, and Kate smiled and answered, "Love you, too."

"Then why don't you marry us?" Alexis mumbled as she drifted closer to much needed sleep.

Castle reached for Kate's hand and squeezed it gently, then they each stretched an arm across Alexis' back and gradually fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Alexis woke up to the smells of coffee and bacon. Still half-asleep, she was a little disoriented, feeling that something wasn't quite right about her bed. Her arms were still folded under her head, and she thought she must not have moved all night once she was finally warm.

Finally warm… Oh. That's what was wrong with her bed. Kate took over and helped her dad take care of her the night before. The thought surprised her…and then again, it didn't. She knew Kate cared about her and would be there if she needed her; but last night could have been really awkward, and Kate had minimized that as much as possible…and hadn't seemed to mind. It still felt weird, but it also felt like she was loved.

She dragged herself out of bed and made use of her dad's bathroom, feeling more alert after splashing cold water on her face. It was still cold, but there was coffee; and since they had apparently been cooking, the kitchen should be a little warmer. Pulling her robe closer around her, she put on her warm, fuzzy slippers and walked out into the kitchen.

"'Morning, Pumpkin. Breakfast is almost ready," Castle told her as he put bacon on a serving plate.

Kate was setting the table, a card table Castle had used to make play places for Alexis when she was little. They had moved it into the kitchen.

"What's that doing here? " Alexis asked. "I didn't even know we still had it."

"It gets us closer to the stove so we don't shiver off all the calories we eat. Toast is in the oven," he explained as he scrambled eggs. "We'll leave the oven door open while we eat. The fireplace is already on. Maybe that will help a little later."

"You've been busy."

"Trying to take care of my girls."

"I'm not _that_ much younger than you, Castle," Kate answered in mock warning as she took down the glasses.

"Thanks for last night, Kate," Alexis said softly. "You didn't have to make me feel like I belonged with you, but it was nice that you did."

"What kind of partner wouldn't help her partner take care of his little girl?" Here. Put these on the table, then all we need is the toast and eggs."

"And those are coming right up," Castle chimed in, handing Kate the plate of eggs and taking the toast out.

He left the oven door open, with the small table close to the stove, and it warmed them enough to enjoy their breakfast. They ate in silence for a couple of minutes before Alexis blurted out, "Why don't you just move in here, Kate?"

Not quite sure how to answer, Kate decided humor might work, and she looked over at Castle. "I think I might have been demoted since last night."

"Could be," he answered with a smile.

"Demoted?" Alexis asked.

"Last night you said "Love you Kate, and then you proposed," her dad told her."

"I propo…" Her hand covered her mouth in surprise as she obviously remembered. "Oh. I'm sorry…well, I'm not, but I shouldn't have…"

"It's okay," Kate assured her. "It felt good to know you wouldn't mind…so we're even?"

"Okay, yeah. Even." Alexis looked somewhat relieved.

"But, as happy as I am to know it would be all right with you," Castle stated, "we have to make those decisions for ourselves…when we know it's the right time for us."

"I just like having Kate here."

"Me, too," Castle answered.

Alexis nodded and they changed the subject and finished their breakfast. Castle turned off the oven, still leaving the door open for whatever warmth was left, and they moved into the living room, wrapping themselves in the blankets from the previous night's movie watching.

"I love all the open space in the loft, but times like this it would be nice to be able to close some doors and confine the little bit of heat we've got. And the fireplace is much more helpful with the fans on," Castle complained.

"Do we still have those battery powered fans we used to take camping?"

"Richard Castle went camping? Camping…like sleeping in a tent outdoors?" Kate asked in surprise.

"Later," Castle said as he turned to answer Alexis. "Those fans might help. Do you remember what kind of batteries they used? If we have the right size, I'll bundle up and go down to the storage room in the basement…see if I can find them. With all this open space, they probably won't help much, but it can't hurt to try."

"Didn't you talk about building blanket forts when Alexis was younger?" Kate asked. "How did you do it? Could we confine some heat in one of those?"

Castle grabbed her and kissed her. "Brilliant women in this family! Fans and a blanket fort. I'll check for batteries. Alexis, you introduce Kate to fort building." He found batteries, put on a warm coat, and left to look for the fans, leaving the women to gather fort building supplies.

When he returned, the building materials had been gathered…enough blankets for three sides and a roof, free standing poles, heavy wire, and curtain rings with clamps to clip on the blankets. The three of them put the fort together, stringing the wire through brackets at the tops of the poles and stringing the curtain rings as they strung the wire. The blankets for the three sides were clipped in place, then the roof blankets were laid carefully across the top. The finished structure was long and narrow…two blankets long and one blanket wide…close enough to the fireplace to hopefully collect a little heat, but not close enough to cause concern.

"Impressive," Kate said, looking at the blanket room that went up so fast. "Did you figure this out on your own back then?"

"Yep. And it made my little girl happy," he bragged.

"I can't believe there's enough storage space behind the stairs to hold all this stuff…and there was more in there."

"One day you'll know all my secrets, Detective," he answered with a grin. "Now, let's see if these fans can get some warm air in here while we set up camp." He put in the batteries, turned the fans on low and the fireplace on high, and Alexis brought cushions from the furniture and big floor pillows to throw in for comfort.

"Once they were settled, stretched across the pillows and cushions and were under their blankets, Kate asked, "Will one of you tell me about the camping trips now?"

They told her warm stories about what they found on nature walks, wildlife, swinging into the water on ropes, people they met, and funny stories about attempts at fishing, falling tents, two poison ivy episodes…

"Do you have pictures?"

"You're asking a proud father if he has pictures?"

"You'll be sorry, Kate," Alexis groaned. "I know I will. I couldn't get him to throw away any of them. There's enough in those albums to keep him going through a dozen of these storms."

"Be right back," he answered, leaving his blanket behind to get the picture albums from his study. He returned with several albums from Alexis' early childhood and reported that their fort and fans must be working, that it was already a little warmer there than in the rest of the house. He stretched out on the cushions next to Kate again, pulled his blanket back in place, and plopped one of the albums in the floor in front of her.

Kate opened the cover and couldn't help smiling. There was a picture of Alexis with a fishing pole. She had the pole in one hand and was holding the line in her other hand, a fish about the length of an iPhone dangling from the line. Judging from the big, gap-toothed grin, she must have been about six or seven.

"That's quite a fish, Alexis," Kate laughed.

"It looked a lot bigger then," the girl answered good-naturedly.

"And it was more than what I caught," Castle grumbled. "That picture is one of my favorites, though."

"I can see why," Kate answered as she turned the page.

Alexis moved closer to Kate's other side so she could see better, and to point out her favorites. One of them was a young Rick holding his five year old daughter on his shoulders. She had her arms folded on top of his head with her chin resting on them, and his eyes were rolled upward to look at her.

"You're both adorable. I think that's going to be one of my favorites, too," Kate answered.

They were all on their stomachs, propped on elbows to turn pages and point things out. As Alexis predicted, the morning was spent with the albums and the stories that went with the pictures, and they were all enjoying it. Finally somebody's stomach growled, alerting them to the fact that breakfast had been a good while ago.

"Let's decide what we want before we leave the blankets," Castle suggested. "That way we can put it together fast and get back in here."

After a brief discussion, they had a plan. Everybody did their assigned jobs, took a bathroom break, and went back to 'Fort Castle' as they had begun to call it, lunch and hot chocolate in hand. When lunch was finished, they all found books, Castle brought his laptop, and they all lounged on the various cushions and read for a while. Then Kate and Alexis read to the tapping of the keys on the laptop as Castle wrote, suddenly finding inspiration he didn't want to lose.

After another meal break near the kitchen stove, Castle mentioned that, when he brought up the fans, he had also brought the air mattresses he and Alexis had used for camping and suggested they sleep in their warm nest that night. It would be much more comfortable than the night before.

As twilight fell and light behind the blankets became less existent, their battery powered lanterns were turned up and more were brought in to illuminate the card games and the board game Alexis suggested. Considering the hours they were without electricity or a real heat source for the loft, they had a pretty good day…very relaxed. They had discovered that they were comfortable together...even for that long…and even in a confined space. Surely that was a good sign.

After the game, the mattresses were inflated, the beds were made up with fresh linens, they each took a bathroom, cleaned up, changed clothes, and tucked themselves in for the night.

After the lanterns were out, Kate asked, "Alexis, are you okay over there?"

"Yeah. Warm and comfortable. Goodnight."

"'Night, sweetie," Castle mumbled before he turned and took Kate in his arms.

xxxxx

Alexis again was up before her father and Kate. She lifted her head and looked to see if they were awake yet and found them spooned together…Kate's back against his chest, his head resting near hers, his arm across her waist, and his hand holding hers even in his sleep. On the one hand, it felt out of place to see it, as if she were intruding on something too private for her to see. On the other hand, she couldn't help but smile. They freely shared space with her and made sure she was well cared for…both of them. They made sure that she had no reason to feel on the outside of their relationship with one another. They looked so peaceful…and so perfect together...their faces relaxed, looking younger.

Letting them sleep, she got up quietly, took a few minutes for personal needs, washed her face in the very cold water, and started the coffee she knew they would all want before long. Shortly after the aroma of coffee filled the air, Alexis heard quiet voices from behind the blankets, and it wasn't long before the other two occupants of the loft wandered out in search of coffee.

"Be right back," Kate told them and went in the direction of Castle's bedroom and bath. She returned quickly saying, "Now I'm ready for coffee."

Castle handed her a mug and said, "And in a couple of minutes, I'll be ready for mine." By the time he was back, Kate had his coffee ready and waiting.

"You two are so perfect together," Alexis said while her father was gone, adding hesitantly, "I watched you sleep for a minute before I got up."

"I hope there wasn't anything inappropriate," Kate answered, looking a little nervous.

"No. It made me smile. You both looked so relaxed and comfortable together. I hope I find somebody who loves me as much as he loves you…somebody I can love as much as I think you love him."

"I hope so, too." Kate took one hand from her warm coffee mug and briefly ran it up and down Alexis' arm in agreement.

"Did I miss anything?" Castle asked, accepting the coffee Kate handed him.

"Just girl stuff," Alexis answered. "Let's make a big breakfast."

"Hungry this morning?" her father asked, looking amused.

"Cold this morning. If we make a big breakfast, it's going to be warmer in here when we eat it."

"I like the way you think," Kate told Alexis. "Tell you what. You pick it out, and we'll help get it ready."

Again they worked together and enjoyed the warmth of the oven while they ate, then they returned to the warmth of Fort Castle.

"Yesterday was kind of fun, but another day of this and it's going to start getting old," Alexis sighed as they sat down in the more comfortable space again.

"We might as well leave the mattresses set up, in case we need to sleep here again tonight. They're more comfortable than all those cushions, anyway," Castle suggested."

"Your laser tag gear works without electricity. If you get desperate, you can chase each other around," Kate observed.

"Actually, we could all chase each other around. I got an extra vest and gun for you, too.

"Wow. Do we wait until we get a little more desperate?"

"Let's wait," Alexis answered. "We might need some distraction if the power is still off this afternoon. I think I'd rather finish my book.

In silent agreement, Kate picked up her book and Castle grabbed his laptop to add to what he had written the day before.

By very late afternoon, the power was still off, so a game of laser tag was started. Just after dark, in the midst of some trash talk between the participants from their various safe places in the loft, the electricity returned. The refrigerator was humming, and the central heating came back on. They all cheered and got on with the game. Kate thought she was winning when Castle suddenly rolled out from behind the breakfast bar and took her down. Then Alexis managed to shoot Castle.

"Ha!" she called out, arms and laser gun in the air victoriously, accompanied by a triumphant little strut.

Kate and Castle were both lying on the floor watching, and Kate turned her head toward Castle, laughing. "She likes to win, doesn't she?"

"Oh, yeah," he answered with a grin, getting up and holding a hand out to pull Kate up, too.

After congratulating Alexis, the laser gear was put away and they went back to the air mattresses and settled across them to relax.

Kate stretched out face down across the mattress. "No wonder you've been doing that for so long. It was fun. Thanks for including me."

"Always," Castle answered, dropping down to the same position beside her, and leaning close enough to kiss her cheek quickly.

"Come over here with us," Kate offered Alexis. "Want the middle again?"

"Yeah," Alexis laughed, and she wiggled between them, all of them chuckling as they moved to make enough space for everybody.

"We can hang out here until the house gets a little more comfortable, then we can heat something for dinner and enjoy it without the oven door hanging open," Castle suggested. The three of them all lay there, chins resting on their folded arms. "Do you know if you have classes tomorrow?"

"No. My phone is in my room. I forgot to pick it up when I changed clothes, and it was too cold to go up there again to get it," Alexis answered. "Besides, it wasn't so bad hanging out down here with you."

"Did you hear that, Beckett?" Castle asked. "We have the honor of having been enough entertainment to keep an eighteen year old away from her phone all weekend."

Kate laughed. "Us and the fact that it was too cold to go up there to get it." Alexis elbowed Kate's arm and got the same response in return. "But I have to admit, it was a pretty nice weekend…even without the comforts of electricity."

"I think that means she likes us," Castle said conspiratorially to Alexis. "And we all showed a little pioneer spirit. Nobody complained. We all pitched in and made things work. I'm proud of us."

"Me, too," Alexis agreed.

"Me, too, Kate added.

"We're a good team, don't you think?" Castle asked, and looked over to find both women nodding and smiling.

They stayed there for a while, talking now and then, one or the other of them nearly dozing off periodically until Alexis finally said she needed to find out if she had to be in class the next day. She went upstairs to get her phone and came back down telling them how many texts and voice mails she had missed. Some of them let her know that classes would resume on Tuesday, but her roommate would be back Monday morning.

"I think I'd like to go back tomorrow morning, too. Both of you will be at work. I might as well be where I have some company, and I don't want to wait until Tuesday morning and have to get everything back to the dorm before my first class."

"Why don't you call your roommate and tell her we'll pick her up, and I'll take both of you back tomorrow morning," Castle suggested. "I can do that before I go in to the precinct."

"Can we go ahead and eat something now? I need to get things ready to go back if we're leaving early."

"Sure. Why don't you go ahead and get everything together and leave dinner to me. I'll put the lasagna in the oven and make a salad."

Alexis got up, and went to her room while Kate got up and followed Castle into the kitchen to help with the salad. Castle started the oven and turned back to Kate.

"I like this," he said softly, putting an arm around her shoulders and kissing her head. "It felt good having you with us this weekend…it felt right."

"I liked it, too," she assured him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Can we talk about that soon?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah?" he asked hopefully, and she answered him with a kiss, arms moving around his neck and fingers in his hair, being sure he understood…before Alexis had time to come back and catch them; and he returned the kiss, holding her close in the same spirit…a feeling of promise filling him.

"If the lasagna isn't in the oven when she gets back, your daughter will know we've been distracting each other."

"I think she already knows we do that."

"I'm sure she does, but still…"

"So time to work, huh?" They had made several main dishes for dinners after their grocery trip a few nights before. He took the lasagna from the refrigerator and put it in the oven.

"Work, huh? You think you'll survive the strain of all that work you just did, Superman?

He swatted her on the bottom with the back of his hand and said, "Get out the salad stuff. I'll get everything else we need." Kate laughed, and he grinned at her mischievously.

By the time Alexis came back with her packed duffel bag, dinner was ready. The oven door again stayed open for warmth. The loft was big and open, and the downstairs space wasn't heating up as quickly as they had hoped, but the individual rooms would be ready for them to sleep in their own beds that night.

Alexis grabbed a corner of blanket as if she intended to start taking down their fort, but Kate stopped her, saying, "Don't worry about it. I'll help him with it tomorrow after work."

"Okay. 'Night, Kate. Goodnight, Dad."

"Night, hon," he called from the kitchen.

xxxxx

Monday morning, as Kate was leaving and Castle was about to take Alexis' bag to his car for her, Kate's phone rang. "Beckett," she answered, back to being the efficient detective. She listened as she went to the kitchen, found a notepad, and wrote down an address. "There's a body already," she told Castle. "I'll text you the address and you can meet us there."

"Dad, by the time you fight the traffic long enough to drive over to pick Laura up, get us both back to the dorm, and fight the traffic back, the whole team will be back at the twelfth. Why don't you let me get a cab. I'll go to Laura's first and pick her up."

"Compromise. I'll call the car service. I know you'll both be okay with them. They'll be careful in this mess, and they know how to reach me if there's a problem."

"Give me a minute, Beckett. Let me call them and we can leave." he said as he went into his office and made the arrangements.

"Kate, it was fun having you here this weekend. Thank you for everything."

"I didn't do anything to be thanked for. I enjoyed it, too. You're sure it didn't infringe on your time with your dad?"

"No more than I infringed on your time with my dad. It was good…the three of us. We should have taken some pictures."

"But all our phones were in the other rooms and it was too cold to go get them for pictures?"

Alexis flashed the smile Kate loved to see and said, "I hardly thought about the phone. It was almost like when I was little and Dad and I just kept finding things to do…only now we have you to help. "I like that."

"Honey, I'm not going to try to replace your mother, but I do care about you, and…"

"Have I been demoted? A couple of nights ago you said, 'Love you, too,'" Alexis answered with a little faux pout.

"Touché," Kate answered, and chuckled. "I still do, but you were half asleep then, and I wasn't sure you were really ready for that."

Seeing her father leaving the study, she gave Kate a big hug. "Don't worry. It's all going to work. I know you have to go. I'll see you before long?"

"Count on it," Kate promised.

"Carl said Marty should be here in about twenty minutes," Castle told his daughter. "This weekend was fun. Maybe sometime we can build another fort just because we want to…and invite your grandmother to join the three of us."

"Love you, Dad." She gave him a big hug. "I'll let you know when we get back to campus."

"Good. Love you, too."

In the elevator on the way down, Castle kissed Kate softly. "Are your doubts about Alexis gone now?"

"She made me feel like I belong with the two of you."

"You made her feel the same way about belonging with the two of us." He leaned in and kissed her again.

"Let's save this for tonight. If we keep this up, I won't be able to concentrate on the crime scene."

Waving at the doorman on the way out, they walked carefully to Kate's car and cleared off the snow. Driving off down the street toward the crime scene, Kate gave Castle a playful look.

"When will your mother be back?"

"Late Tuesday afternoon. Why?"

"So is Fort Castle a sacred, family only space…or are you up for a few new fort memories?"

"You have in mind seeing how much that air mattress can take?"

"Something like that." Kate answered. She followed that with a little eyebrow wiggle that made Castle proud, and he rewarded her with a rumbling laugh.

"I hope we can blame this on the cold."

"Blame what on the cold?" Beckett asked.

"The fact that neither one of us is going to be able to concentrate on the crime scene," he answered. He grinned at the throaty chuckle he got in response and good-naturedly grumbled, "Evil woman."


End file.
